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Mugabe regrets 'incompatible' unity government

(AFP) – 8 hours
ago

HARARE — Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe on Friday called the unity
government with Prime Minster Morgan Tsvangirai "an incompatible marriage"
and apologised to his party for failing to call for elections this year to
end the compromise arrangement.

"This lack of comprehension is the
heavy price we are paying for an incompatible marriage borne out of 2008,"
Mugabe said in the state-owned Herald newspaper.

"We voted for it, as
we voted against ourselves. But still it is with us and those riding on the
chariot of this creature and enjoying it don't want the pleasure to go,"
Mugabe told a meeting of his ZANU-PF party.

"It is an illegitimate one
because it's a political creature not really born out of the wishes of the
people but the wishes of the parties to create a transition to
elections."

The power-sharing government was formed in 2009 to end the
nation's descent into violence after Tsvangirai won a first-round
presidential vote, sparking a wave of attacks that left more than 200 of his
supporters dead.

Mugabe's rule had grown increasingly autocratic since he
took power from Britain at independence in 1980, and he has bristled at even
the modest trimming of his power under the unity accord.

The
87-year-old, already backed as his party's next presidential candidate, had
pressed for new elections this year but was rebuffed after Tsvangirai won
regional support for insisting on more democratic reforms first.

The
unity deal calls for a new constitution, approved by referendum, before
holding new polls. Tsvangirai also wants reform in the security forces,
which remain firmly in Mugabe's grip.

"I am sorry we have not been in
control of the mechanisms, mechanisms that we thought would lay the road to
an election this year in terms of our decision taken at our last conference"
in December 2010, Mugabe said.

He called for peace ahead of new
elections, which he said should be held by March.

"Let us work for a
culture of peace and non-violence and let us take this message to our
provinces and districts and the people will welcome that," he
said.

Every election since 2000 has been marred by violence, directed
mainly at Tsvangirai's supporters.

Mugabe
warns against Libya-style uprising

PRESIDENT Robert Mugabe Thursday said the Arab Spring
could have been avoided if the countries' leaders had “read” the situation
properly and warned that Western powers backing the uprisings could target
Zimbabwe next.

“We have had good relations with those Arab countries in
trouble today. We have sympathy with them because they did not read warnings
that they should have read. That things were changing because of the wishes
of their people, and because of machinations of the imperialists,” the
president said.

“The pattern has been the same ... Protests against some
political measure or system or wanting change. It ends up being a demand for
the entire government to go,” said Mugabe addressing senior members of his
Zanu-PF party.

Mugabe said Zimbabwe must be watchful of what has
happened in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Libya where Western powers “pretend to
be following the grievances of the protestors” when in fact they are after
resources of the countries.

Last month Mugabe said African leaders
would not recognise the interim government in Libya until it has negotiated
with the fugitive leader Moammar Gadaffi.

On Wednesday Mugabe warned
that “imperialists” could target Zimbabwe. “We must remain prepared to
defend our country and sovereignty,” the 87 year-old leader
said.

Mugabe also added that he would not give in to demands by Prime
Minister Morgan Tsvangirai to stop a law that forces foreign-owned companies
to surrender their majority stake to black Zimbabweans.

“Zimbabwe is
for a Zimbabweans. There shall never be a time when we will give away our
resources. Never. Never. Let them come as partners in return for what we do
not have say technology. Yes, bring it, but not by more than 50 percent,”
said Mugabe.“We are saying resources to the people. It is not
racism.”

The law was passed in 2007, before Zanu-PF formed a coalition
with Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party.

Tsvangirai
has since voiced concerns that the law could scare away badly-needed foreign
investors. It is seen by some as a controversial extension of Zimbabwe's
policy to seize white-owned farms.

The law's critics argue that most
Zimbabweans are too poor to own stakes in companies that might require
injections of capital. They fear that the equity will end up in the hands of
wealthy officials.

MDC-T
'suspends' minister over US cables

JUSTICE and Legal Affairs Deputy Minister Obert Gutu was
suspended from his position as spokesman of the MDC-T party’s Harare
provincial executive after leaked United States cables showed him telling
diplomats that party leader Morgan Tsvangirai was weak and given to
nepotism.

MDC-T Harare provincial chairman Paul Madzore said Gutu was
suspended last week over statements he made to US ambassador Charles Ray in
January 2010.

“It is true that we suspended him as the provincial
executive and the suspension was indefinite, but we are thinking of lifting
it soon,” the Zimbabwe Independent quoted Madzore as saying.Don
Chiringa, an official in the Prime Minister Tsvangirai’s office, was now the
acting provincial spokesman.

But Gutu and the MDC-T’s secretary general
Tendai Biti poured cold water on the reported move, insisting that the
party’s provincial executive had no such authority.“That’s news to me,”
Gutu told the Independent.

Biti, himself described as “ambitious” and
sharply opposed to Tsvangirai on tactics in the cables released by
WikiLeaks, added: “The provincial executive has no power to suspend
Gutu.

“It is only the national executive that can do that. The provincial
executive has not communicated with us on that issue so it is not true that
Gutu has been suspended.”

Tsvangirai, fearing dividing his party,
came out publicly last week to insist that no action will be taken against
officials who were critical of him in the cables including treasurer Roy
Bennett, Biti, Gutu and organising secretary Nelson Chamisa.

“Our
party regards WikiLeaks with suspicion,” said Tsvangirai. “We can’t follow
rumours and we cannot run a country on gossip. We are not doing anything
about that and that’s where it ends.”

Gutu told Ambassador Ray during a
meeting held on January 30, 2010, that although he was “tolerant and
humble”, Tsvangirai was however undone by being “indecisive and
inconsistent”.Ambassador Ray wrote: “(Senator) Gutu also stated that
Tsvangirai had a tendency to listen to the wrong people.

“He pointed
to Ian Makone, Tsvangirai's chief of staff, and Makone's wife, Theresa, who
is the Minister of Public Works.

“He opined that neither was a good
strategist, and that the Office of the Prime Minister was weak due to Ian
Makone's lack of leadership.”

Gutu also laid into Tsvangirai for
employing relatives.

“Gutu noted that (Murisi) Zwizwai and Tsvangirai are
cousins and this is another example of friendship getting in the way of
governance,” Ray added in the cable.Bennett was most scathing,
describing Tsvangirai as a weak political operator who "does what the last
person tells him to do."

Zimbabwe's Biti Sees Problems Paying for Elections

Zimbabwe’s Finance Minister Tendai Biti
has told parliament that he has to find money to finance a referendum for a
new constitution next year as we will find money for the next election.
Biti’s statement comes amid concerns about how the country will fund full
implementation of the 2008 political agreement which brought the inclusive
government to power.

Even though President Robert Mugabe and his ZANU-PF
party have said that elections will be held next year, parliament was given
a different time frame this week from the man who controls the money,
Finance Minister Tendai Biti, a member of the Movement for Democratic Change
party.

Biti says his next budget of $3.5 billion, based on predicted
economic growth of 9.7 percent, has to accommodate a referendum on a new
constitution in 2012 as well as costs of preparations for
elections.

Biti said those events and their costs are coming, whether
lawmakers like it or not.

Preparations for the presidential,
legislative and local government elections will include either a new voters’
roll or one considerably revamped, according to multi-party negotiators.
The negotiators expect substantial changes to electoral law as
well.

Biti said he will also have to find money to support institutions
which the political agreement insists be created ahead of fresh elections,
such as the Human Rights Commission. That commission has been set up but
legislation to allow it to operate is stalled in the legislature. It has no
budget either.

In addition, Biti said his ministry will struggle to pay
public service wages which are 67 percent of the 2012 budget, and said he
can not fund repayment of Zimbabwe’s $7 billion foreign debt.

Biti's
ministry depends on tax revenues alone to fund the government, as Zimbabwe
cannot raise any foreign loans to rebuild infrastructure, which fell apart
under the former ZANU-PF administration.

The finance minister once again
slammed spending on foreign travel by senior government personnel. Detailed
reports on money withdrawn from the treasury show that most of it was spent
by Mr. Mugabe on travel to Asia for medical treatment.

He also said
imports far exceeded exports, with unprecedented amounts spent by the
private sector importing vehicles.

Biti warned that growth would drop to
7.8 percent in 2012 because, in his words, “we expect election talk and
violence.”

Zimbabwe's last elections in 2008 were seriously marred by
widespread beatings and killings, most of them perpetrated by ZANU-PF
supporters against the MDC. The MDC ended up winning control of parliament
but the presidential vote, officially won by Mr. Mugabe, was rejected
internationally as a sham.

A post-election agreement left Mr. Mugabe
as president but gave the MDC an unprecedented power-sharing
role.

Analysts have warned that Zimbabwe must have conditions for free
and fair elections in place before attempting another vote.

Civil
servants to get hefty bonuses

HARARE - Civil servants are set to smile all
the way to the bank this coming November as government is planning to award
them hefty annual bonuses.

Information gathered by the Daily News
revealed that government has already set aside $32 million to reward its
loyal employees for their hard work throughout 2011.

The funds are
expected to be drawn from diamond funds which amount to $43,3 million as at
September 30 this year.Government has in recent years staggered bonus
payments between November and December for its huge workforce, owing to
liquidity challenges.

According to the information gathered by the Daily
News, government’s Salary Services Bureau (SSB)’s United States Dollar
account balance was at $75 million as at 30 September this year, comprising
a $43 million balance for monthly salaries and the $32 million bonus
balance.

The SSB is a government arm that deals with processing salaries
and pensions.

This comes after calls by government workers who,
despite accounting for more than 60 percent of national expenditure, earn
below the poverty datum line.

The government of Zimbabwe succumbed to
mounting pressure in July and awarded its workers a paltry $31 increase
despite the fact that the country is reeling from a $9 billion debt and has
a $700 million budgetary deficit.

The increment brought the minimum
inclusive pay to $253.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) said the
salary increment has threatened the country’s current 9,3 percent annual
economic growth forecast, by increasing total employment costs from $83,2
million over the first six months of the year to $144,6 million in
July.

As such, government is required to raise an additional $188,3
million from its coffers to cover the increase in employment costs to
December 2011.

AfDB’s monthly report as at September 2011 indicated that
the country’s actual current expenditure of $1,2 billion is above the
targeted $1,1 billion, mainly on account of the increase in employment
costs.

In terms of revenue mobilisation, actual total revenues collected
amounted to $1,59 billion which was marginally above the target of $1,510
billion, but non-tax actual revenues were still below
target.

Government’s quagmire appears to confirm Finance Minister Tendai
Biti’s argument against an “unsustainable” civil service wage rise, saying
that government has no capacity to pay for salary increases because revenue
collection capacity was on a decline.

Biti told Parliament in July
that civil servants’ salary increments would cost the government an extra
$29 million per month, pushing the wage bill to 70 percent of government
expenditure up from 45 percent.

Government
duty-free car scheme dismissed as electioneering

Government is proposing a duty free
motor vehicle scheme for civil servants, that has been criticized by the
president of Zimbabwe’s main teachers’ union, who said the real
beneficiaries will be senior government officials who can afford to buy cars
in the first place.

The proposed duty-free scheme, due to go into effect
from January 2012, would exempt senior civil servants from paying import
taxes on vehicles. They would also receive loans of up to $7 000, payable
within 10 years, to purchase cars. The state run media said this is an
effort by government “to boost its workers' morale through non-monetary
benefits.”

Takavafira Zhou, President of the Progressive Teachers Union
of Zimbabwe (PTUZ), told SW Radio Africa that teachers were not consulted
and they do not even know the details of the so-called incentives. “Anything
for teachers without teachers is against teachers. Increase salaries first,”
Zhou said.

He explained that teachers form a large percentage of the
government work force and have been demanding wage increases and better work
conditions for years now. Most civil servants earn an average salary of
about $250 per month, which is below the poverty datum line of
$500.

“Teachers are not credit worthy and only senior government
officials can afford to buy cars which cost over $4,000. Where would a
teacher earning $200 get that kind of money?” Zhou asked.The timing of
the announcement has also been criticized by some observers, who pointed to
the fact that elections are expected in the country next year and ZANU PF is
attempting to gain support.

Zhou agreed with that assessment and
explained that the same thing happened when teachers were promised a housing
scheme. “Government was flooded with applications but teachers did not
receive those houses. Only senior management in government, like permanent
secretaries and provincial directors benefitted,” Zhou said.

Archbishop
of Canterbury in Zimbabwe this weekend

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, is due to
arrive in Zimbabwe this weekend, amidst the continuing evictions of clergy
and teachers by the ex-communicated Anglican Bishop Nolbert
Kunonga.Archbishop Williams has been on a tour of the Church Province of
Central Africa (CPCA), which includes Zambia and Malawi. But Zimbabwe
presents his greatest challenge, due to the ongoing victimization of clergy
and parishioners by Kunonga. The renegade bishop has support from the police
and from Robert Mugabe.The archbishop has requested a meeting with
Robert Mugabe although it is not known whether the meeting will take place.
Precious Shumba, press officer for the CPCA in Harare, told SW Radio Africa
on Friday that Mugabe’s office has not yet responded to their
request.

Asked whether Kunonga will be discussed, Shumba said: “This is a
courtesy call on Robert Mugabe and they will dwell on the impact of church
development within the national discourse.”He added that Kunonga is not
recognized by the Anglican church and discussing him would legitimize his
position.

Shumba confirmed that the Archbishop will hold a service at the
City Sports Center on Sunday, because Kunonga’s followers have taken over
church properties that belonged to the CPCA.Meanwhile Reverend Sydney
Chirombe and 3 other teachers at St Mark’s in Mhondoro were served eviction
notices on Wednesday by a Kadoma deputy sherrif, representing Kunonga. St
Marks has about 900 students who will be affected by the evictions. Hundreds
are due to take exams next week.

Williams,
Mahlangu appear in court

WOZA leaders Jennifer Williams and Magodonga
Mahlangu appeared in Court 2 Tredgold Magistrates Court at 9am on 6th
October 2011 before Magistrate Tawanda Muchemwa. They were remanded to 12
December 2011. Although Prosecutor Melvin Nzombe was in attendance most
prosecutors are on strike therefore the long remand date.

Ten members
arrested alongside Williams and Mahlangu during the 21 September 2011 Peace
Day protest have filed a complaint against police officers who made up the
Riot Reaction squad on the day in question. The ten, represented by 2 have
complained to the Zimbabwe Republic Police that officers were beat them and
arrested them used foul language on them and others who were not arrested.
The Officer commanding Crime Prevention Unit, Sergeant J. Dzikiti in the
company of other police officers called the women ‘Beche’ the Shona language
word for Vagina and also ‘Beche ramai vako’ (your mothers vagina) as they
beat the human rights defenders with baton sticks. Sergeant Dzikiti is also
the one who gave orders for the beating shouting ‘uraya’, meaning ‘kill’ in
Shona.

An investigating officer has been assigned to the case Wednesday
but in current police trend they asked the victims to go get the perpetrator
and present him. Today, in the company of Williams and Mahlangu the women
attend Bulawayo Central Police Station to locate the officer. Sgt Dzikiti
was identified and directly confronted ad asked to go with the women to the
investigating officer but refused. The activists obtained his name and force
number which was submitted to the investigating officer. The case number is
IR 7900/11.

After the 10 June raid by police offices of the WOZA
office, a formal complaint was made to the legal department of the police on
1st July 2011. But apart from police attending the house to remove their
planted documents and bullets no further update has been received. A Nokia
X3 mobile phone with MTN Sim card and USD$400 stolen from the house by
police officers guarding it remains ignored.

Another report made on
Tuesday 27th October 2011, of burglary and theft from another WOZA property
remains ignored and un- investigated. Bulawayo Central Police station
officers receiving the report have even refused to provide an initial report
number or assign a crime reference book number.

WOZA leaders Jenni
Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu were met with Global Political Agreement
Joint Monitoring and Implementation Committee (JoMic) staff on 12th
September 2011 in their offices.

The meeting was attended by the 3
political part representatives, Frank Chamunorwa (MDC), Oppah Muchinguri
(Zanu PF) and Thabita Kumalo (MDC T) and their staff liaison officers.
During this meeting, WOZA was asked to report all human rights abuses to the
police and relay these complaints to JoMIC with police reference numbers.
But it is proving difficult for WOZA members to get cooperation from
Bulawayo Central Police station.

It is unfortunate that in Zimbabwe there
is no independent complaint process so the junior investigating officer will
be expected to discipline his superior officer so it is unclear how
effective this process can be but it is a record for future Transitional
Justice processes.

Zimbabwe turns to
mining to boost coffers

The Zimbabwe government, cash-strapped and faced
with a bloated civil service wage bill and a possible budget shortfall for
the coming year, is planning to turn to mining companies to boost its
coffers through raising taxes for companies in the
sector.

Zimbabwe is expected to hold a referendum on a new
constitution and hold elections next year, both of which have to be funded
from government coffers. Moreover, this year alone, the government is faced
with a $700 million budget deficit, further compounding matters for the
troubled coalition administration, set-up following disputed polls more than
two years ago.

And with mining companies sticking to their operations
in the country despite an empowerment law that is being enforced in a
confrontational manner by indigenisation minister, Saviour Kasukuwere, the
government is mulling increasing the tax thresholds for mining
companies.

An economist with the industry representative grouping, the
chamber of mines of Zimbabwe, said Zimbabwe's regulatory environment was
increasingly becoming uncertain.

"The contribution of the mining
sector to the fiscus remains subdued in spite of the firming mineral
prices," said Finance Minister Tendai Biti this week. Global prices for
minerals have surged in recent months as investors move into less volatile
investment options on the back of the credit and debt woes that have hit
Europe and other global markets.

Mining sector players said raising taxes
would further impact on their profitability as they were already paying
corporate tax and other general taxes.

Biti's argument, presented in
a pre-budget statement in parliament on Wednesday, was that the mining
sector had to contribute funding for critical "development and service
delivery". He said Zimbabwe had vast "mineral resources" and that
expectations were high for players in the sector to spearhead community
developments to give back to the communities in which they were
operating.

"But this is a totally different situation, the minister is
trying to justify tax increases on the need for community development," said
the chamber of mines economist.

Industry players and government
officials said the government, in its upcoming budget for 2012, was likely
to tax royalties on gold and platinum production at more than 4.5% and 5%
respectively, while royalties on alluvial diamonds would be increased "from
the current 15%".

Mines Minister Obert Mpofu also said there was no going
back on the ban on raw chrome exports despite widespread concerns over
stockpiled raw chrome as local refiners are failing to clear the refining
backlog, pointing to constrained refinery capacity. He said that although
the door had been shut on chrome exports the mines ministry was still
prepared to consider individual requests, highlighting the elasticity of
Zimbabwe's regulatory framework.

"Come and tell us how much chrome
you have and how much you have exported and the returns that you have
submitted," he said.

Analysts said it would take some time before the
mining sector re-adjusts to the new legislative environment and tax regime.
Some of the analysts added that this situation could result in scaled back
production, especially for chrome mining.

The majority of Zimbabwe's
mining houses are involved in big community development projects and
examples include projects being undertaken by Impala Platinum's Zimbabwe
unit, Zimplats and the Murowa diamond mine, jointly owned by Rio Tinto and
RioZim.

Biti, whose proposals for a tax increase for the mining sector
was likely to be rubber-stamped by the evenly balanced parliament, has
proposed that an evaluation of the inventory of the country's minerals
resources be undertaken to assess mining sector players' contribution to the
fiscus.

"This will assist in the evaluation of revenue contribution to
the fiscus, thereby improving issues of transparency and accountability in
the mining sector," the Finance Minister said.

The mining sector,
alongside the agricultural sector, was expected to continue underpinning
economic growth in Zimbabwe, with Biti optimistic that Zimbabwe would manage
to reach GDP growth of 9.3% this year. The local economy was however,
according to Biti, likely to slow down next year.

"Gross Domestic Product
is expected to be $10 billion at the expected growth rate of 7,8%. (The)
Basis for the downward revision is politics because we expect election talk
and violence," he said.

Mugabe
admits he has no power to order elections

For a man who thrives on giving the impression he is in total
control, Robert Mugabe surprised many people on Thursday when he admitted he
could not call for elections when he wants them. Addressing the ZANU PF
Central Committee in Harare Mugabe said: “We were looking forward to holding
elections soon but I’m not in control of the mechanism that would lay the
road to elections this year.”

For months ZANU PF was adamant that
elections would be held this year but pressure from regional mediators has
seen a major climb down, if not complete u-turn. A roadmap to elections
endorsed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) makes it clear
elections can’t be held until constitutional and electoral reforms are put
in place.

Mugabe also expressed his frustration with the coalition
government, even though it was the same deal that saved him when he lost
elections in March 2008. He called it "an incompatible marriage" while
apologising to his party for failing to call for elections this
year.

Ironically Mugabe said the coalition is an “illegitimate one
because it's a political creature not really born out of the wishes of the
people but the wishes of the parties to create a transition to elections."
Perhaps commentators should remind him, he is the one who lost elections and
having him in the coalition certainly does not constitute the wishes of the
people.

Meanwhile Mugabe continued to play to the gallery by preaching
peace during his address. But behind the scenes his party is unrolling a
coordinated campaign of intimidation and violence ahead of elections."We
win elections by the nature of our policies. We do not win them by way of
fisting; we do not convert people by way of coercing. We did agree to the
principle of having a meeting of leading bodies, that is the Central
Committee, with equivalent bodies of the two MDC’s to discuss the issue of
peace as we move towards elections so that people can canvas for support
peacefully," Mugabe said.

Perhaps someone in ZANU PF forgot to tell
this to vigilante groups like Chipangano and notorious war vet leader
Jabulani Sibanda, who continue to go around terrorizing anyone perceived as
an opposition supporter.The recent disruption of public hearings at
Parliament by ZANU PF hooligans, who beat up MP’s and poured hot oil over an
MDC activist in a separate incident, were some of the warning shots fired by
ZANU PF.

‘This is a political game that
will backfire spectacularly for ZANU PF. This tendency to arrest senior
MDC-T officials ahead of elections is a political game that is now working
against them. Just wait and see how they are going to lose dismally in the
next poll,’ Mkwananzi said.

Madzore appeared in court Friday and was
remanded to 19th October. He was picked up by six plain clothes police
officers from his Waterfalls home on Tuesday. Police have charged him with
the murder of Inspector Petros Mutedza, who died five months ago in Glen
View.

The MDC-T has maintained the policeman was killed after a fight
broke out with drinkers at a shopping centre. Seven other MDC-T activists
are still in remand prison, 5 months after also being arrested for the death
of the police officer.

The seven, arrested as part of an initial
group of 26, were on Wednesday this week further remanded in custody, also
to 19th October.

On Friday dozens of MDC-T youth members thronged the
Harare magistrates court to show solidarity with Madzore. Mkwananzi told SW
Radio Africa the charges against their leader are unfounded and
unsubstantiated.

‘He was in good spirits in court today, looked well and
fine except that he is in illegal detention. He is a prisoner of conscience,
a political prisoner who is being persecuted for his political
views.

‘They think they are going to weaken the youth assembly ahead of
the next poll because they know we have the capacity to defend our vote. As
youth members of the MDC-T we have the potential to ensure that the winner
of the next elections is respected, this is the reason why they charging our
leader with murder,’ Mkwananzi said.

Last month Costa Machingauta,
the MDC-T national vice chairperson was arrested in Glen View but was
released without any charges being laid against him.

The MDC-T has
long been on the receiving end of ZANU PF’s oppression. Hundreds of its
supporters have been killed, tens of thousands tortured and hundreds of
thousands have lost their homes and their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, WOZA
leaders Jenni Williams and Magodonga Mahlangu also appeared in court on
Friday for a remand hearing. The two, who were released from police custody
on Wednesday after spending 13 days in prison on trumped up charges of
kidnap and theft, were remanded to 12th December.

Home affairs resumes Zim
deportations

The
moratorium on deporting illegal Zimbabweans has quietly been lifted by the
department of home affairs, leading to an outcry from refugee rights
groups.

No deportations of Zimbabweans have taken place for almost
two years while home affairs have been running the Zimbabwe documentation
project (ZDP) to offer legal status to Zimbabweans living illegally in South
Africa.

Organisations working with migrants are angry that the department
has not been open about a memo that was circulated among the police, army
and refugee offices on September 27 explaining that deportations would
resume.

The Mail & Guardian has a copy of the directive issued by
director general of home affairs Mkuseli Apleni to the defence force, police
offices and department of home affairs branches. The directive says "it aims
to give clarity on Zimbabwean nationals who are not presently detected", and
outlines the procedure that officers must follow when deporting
immigrants.

Home affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa would not answer
questions about the directive but did issue a press release this week saying
that illegal immigrants could not claim protection under South Africa's
laws. "No country in the world will allow illegal immigration within its
borders. This is international practice," he said.

Mamoepa told the
M&G that the government had shown goodwill in attempting to regularise
the status of Zimbabweans in the country and had given them a window of
opportunity to hand in their fraudulent documents in return for
amnesty.

People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and
Poverty's Braam Hanekom said the "deportations are in direct contradiction
to the recent undertakings made by home affairs director general, Mr Apleni,
to Parliament not to embark on deportations of Zimbabweans until the
Zimbabwean documentation project has been completed, appeals reviewed and
the minister has approved deportations."

But the ZDP project is not
complete. According to a research report compiled by the African Centre for
Migration Studies (ACMS), "as of October 4, 145 000 permits were dispatched
of 275 762 that were received, though processing was still taking
place".

Creating problemsHuman Rights Watch estimates that there are
1.5-million Zimbabweans in the country, although fewer than 300 000 applied
for legal paperwork during the amnesty period.

CONTINUES
BELOW

ACMS senior researcher Roni Amit said the resumption of
deportations was "going to create problems". She said refugee rights groups
were angry because home affairs had not been transparent about resuming
deportations and that media reports this week had included denials of such a
directive.

Amit said police who arrested Zimbabweans and sent them to
deportation centres generally did not verify whether the individuals were
still waiting for permits.

The directive instructs officers to check
if "the suspect has a pending application" for legal status and to conduct
an interview with the suspect. But Amit was not convinced by this, saying:
"The verification system does not work."

Amit said public health
groups had not been given advance warning that deportations were about to
start.

ACMS researcher Jo Vearey said Zimbabweans on chronic medicine for
tuberculosis or HIV/Aids needed to continue taking their medication after
deportation or run the risk of developing resistance to the diseases or
catching multidrug resistant TB.

"Detention facilities are the
perfect space for onward transmission of TB, and this poses a health risk to
police officers and public immigration officials."

US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray said Zimbabwean trade
is on the rise and investors from around the world are showing increased
interest in the country, which he said is undergoing rapid
change

Gibbs Dube | Washington

A high-powered Zimbabwean
business delegation told skeptical investors in Washington this week to
consider investing in the country despite an ongoing indigenization program,
divisions within the government and local financial market liquidity
constraints.

The delegation said foreign investors are not well enough
informed about opportunities in Zimbabwe ranging from minerals to the
fast-recovering agricultural sector.

Key speaker Tawanda Gumbo, chief
executive in Zimbabwe of international accounting firm Deloitte Touche, said
foreigners are worried about black empowerment given what happened to
thousands of white commercial farmers under land reform after
2000.

US Ambassador to Zimbabwe Charles Ray said Zimbabwean trade is on
the rise and investors from around the world are showing increased interest
in the country.

"This is not to say that Zimbabwe is without its
risks or challenges,” Ray said, noting the continued divisions within a
government combining President Robert Mugabe's ZANU-PF with Prime Minister
Morgan Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change. "But there is also
willingness on all sides to move the political process forward and a broad
recognition of the value of political stability to economic
recovery.”

Declared Ray: "Zimbabwe is changing and changing
quickly."

Some US investors expressed concern they may lose their
property if they invest in the country given the unfolding indigenization
process and weak property rights.

US
Ambassador backs empowerment in Zim

US Ambassador Charles Ray has this week voiced his support for
empowerment plans in Zimbabwe, while encouraging foreign investment in the
country.

Ray made these remarks at a business summit in Washington this
week, where he appeared to steer America’s stance on Zimbabwe in a new
direction. Ray, who has previously been very critical of the situation in
Zimbabwe and ZANU PF’s continued grip on power, said ‘misconceptions’ about
the country’s economic policies were affecting investor
interest.

“How Zimbabwe risk profile matches today with your firms
orientation is a matter for each of you to decide, but let me assure you
that Zimbabwe is changing and it’s changing relatively quickly with
investors from as far as Russia, Brazil and China having visited Zimbabwe in
recent months to explore business opportunities and America’s presence
remains fairly limited,” said Ray. He was addressing groups like the Bankers
Association of Zimbabwe, Cargill Zimbabwe, Deloitte Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe
National Chamber of Commerce, Mimosa Mine, Paramount and Old Mutual, among
others.

Ray then also voiced his support for empowerment, while
responding to concerns about land ‘reform’ and the controversial
indigenisation plans spearheaded by ZANU PF.

“I like that they talk
about local empowerment. It’s a far better word than indigenisation.
Empowering local people to benefit from their resources and to have some say
in their lives is a perfectly laudable goal and I am a 100% behind it. If
it’s done according to the law and when it’s done in a way that truly
empowers the people who have been disadvantaged, I am 100% for it,” Ray
said.

The indigenisation campaign has exacerbated already serious
concerns over investment in Zimbabwe, with the ZANU PF led Empowerment
Ministry making threats to foreign owned firms in recent month. Companies
like Old Mutual, Zimplats and banking groups have all been threatened with
takeover by Empowerment Minister Saviour Kasukuwere. Foreign owned firms are
all expected to cede 51% of their shareholding to ‘indigenous’ Zimbabweans,
in a campaign that has parallels with the destructive land
grab.

Meanwhile potential mining investors are likely to be left even
more confused about the state of affairs after Finance Minister Tendai Biti
this week indicated that taxes imposed on mines would be raised.

"The
contribution of the mining sector to the fiscus remains subdued in spite of
the firming mineral prices," said Biti said this week in
Parliament.

Biti's argument is that the mining sector had to
contribute funding for critical "development and service delivery". He said
expectations were high for players in the mining sector to spearhead
community developments to give back to the communities in which they were
operating.

Residents
drag Chombo to court

HARARE - Kwekwe residents
have taken Local Government, Rural and Urban development Minister Ignatius
Chombo to court in a bid to overturn a unilateral decision he took
reinstating a dismissed city official.

The residents led by
mainstream MDC legislator Blessing Chebundo wants the High Court to order
Chombo to rescind his decision to reinstate the city’s finance director,
Albert Zingwe.

Zingwe was found guilty by a probe team set up by Chombo
to investigate allegations of misappropriating council funds.

The
probe team recommended his dismissal and its decision was also upheld by the
local government board.

However, Chombo decided to unilaterally reinstate
him without proper explanation.

The MDC dominated local authority,
sought advice from the local government board which is chaired by Pisirai
Kwenda and endorsed his dismissal.

The local government board is an arm
of government which has powers to determine the operations of local
authorities in the country.

It makes recommendations to Chombo and
decisions that ought to be made.

The board has in the past made decisions
recommending the dismissal of MDC councillors and Chombo has acted with
haste in implementing them.

In his founding affidavit, Chebundo says
Chombo made the decision to reinstate Zingwe without fully understanding the
facts on the ground and his decision “constitutes a gross irregularity and
flies in the face of the principles of natural justice”.

Chombo is
cited as the first respondent, Kwekwe city council as the second while
Zingwe is cited as the third respondent.

“As a resident of Kwekwe and a
rate-payer I was astonished at the first respondent’s directive which was
effectively turning a blind eye to the fact that the third respondent had
been found guilty of acts of fina- ncial indiscipline,” reads Chebundo’s
affidavit.

Chebundo further said: “I am naturally concerned that this
impunity will result in greater acts of financial indiscretions which will
culminate in even greater losses to the second respondent thus compromising
an already failing service delivery system.”

Chombo known for his
legendary dismissal of MDC councillors countrywide has in the past requested
Kwekwe City Council to furnish him with a comprehensive report explaining
how they arrived at the decision to fire Zingwe.

The residents have
given Chombo 10 days to respond.

“I submit that the conduct of the First
Respondent is highly irregular, and warrants a review by this honourable
court,” Chebundo wrote.

Bonded
nursing graduates to be released: minister

ZIMBABWE is releasing 2,000 nurses from a bonding
scheme after they failed to secure jobs in the health service, Health
Minister Henry Madzorera has told Parliament.

New nursing graduates
and doctors educated through government grants must work for the Ministry of
Health for a period matching the number of years spent in
training.

Only after they have completed their contracted years will they
be issued with their degrees and diplomas, releasing them to seek employment
in private practice or emigrate.

But after the Ministry of Finance
froze all new recruitment across the civil service, Madzorera told MPs it
would be cruel to continue to prevent newly-qualified nurses from seeking
jobs in the region and beyond.

“As a temporary measure, we have decided
to release certificates of the bonded nurses so that they can seek
employment elsewhere,” Madzorera said on Thursday in response to a question
by Mazowe Central MP Shepherd Mushonga [MDC-T].

He added: “This is
temporary, we are not changing our policy but we are saying since the
Ministry of Finance cannot give us money to pay these nurses, then we have
to release their certificates.”

In January this year, Madzorera floated
an idea to approach regional countries in need of nurses for temporary
placement while efforts are being made to rescucitate the economy and take
them back.

“We might find ourselves with more nurses than we need, making
some of those who we train redundant (which) makes it imperative to enter
into a sort of agreement with some of our neighbours who need their
services,” Madzorera said at the time. “We are thinking about
it.”

Bonding was introduced in 2007 to retain medical professionals who
were leaving the country due to the harsh economic climate at the
time.

New graduates trained at the expense of taxpayers would simply pick
up their certificates and move abroad, mainly to the United Kingdom, Canada,
New Zealand, Australia and neighbouring South Africa.

Zimbabwe to
host white collar crime summit

In a bid to put the spotlight on the
threat posed by cyber-crime, Zimbabwe is set to host a summit on fighting
white collar crime in Africa.

Gladys Mtetwa of Proctor and Associates
who are some of the organisers of the summit said it will be held on
November 3 and 4 under the theme "Zero Tolerance for White Collar Crime in
Africa".

The Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) reports that
organisations across the globe lose 5% of gross revenue to fraud every
year.

In Africa it is reported that one half of all fraud falls into the
category of corruption, on a par with Europe and Asia, as the leading spots
among all regions of the world.

This summit is said to be the first
of its kind to give expert advice and techniques for protecting
organisations against bribery, kickbacks, conflicts of interest and other
forms of corruption as well as other crimes like cyber-fraud, cash theft,
dodgy financial reporting, fraud and billing schemes.

The summit
expects to focus on economic and hi-tech crime in Eastern and Southern
Africa, challenges of managing the fraud and corruption problem in Africa,
ACFE's fraud investigation methodology and the forensic investigation
process.

Wikileaks cables galore
this weekend

We now have more than 200 Wikileaks cables on our website but have so far put up the first 200 on
one page. Follow this link this weekend as we will upload no less than 30 more.
You can go through the summaries of these cables in just a few minutes. We have
also started working on an index where we classify the
cables by the names of individuals. This is an ongoing exercise.

HRT 2012 City of Harare Budget Position Update

CITY
UPDATE

“HARARE RESIDENTS HAVE SPOKEN ON CITY BUDGET”

4October 2011

Introduction: Grassroots participation remains a
fundamental ingredient in the work of the Harare Residents’ Trust (HRT) a
residents’ movement that has proved beyond question that it exists to serve the
interest of the public.The HRT has
indeed come in to fill the void between service providers and the residents of
Harare for better service provision.The
HRT organized a budget consultation meeting to come up with a clear and feasible
position on the 2012 City budget. The 23 pre-budget consultative meetings
organised by the City of Harare hindered real citizens’ participation, repeating
the same mistake they have made in the past three years. The meeting was chaired
by the Founder and Coordinator of the HRT, Mr Precious Shumba.Present at the meeting were representatives
from the established HRT suburban structures who included members of the
Residents’ Council members (RC) a critical body in the structure of the HRT.
Discussions at the meeting focused on concerns raised at pre-budget consultation
meetings held during the consultation period.Brief background information on the city budget was given by the HRT
Membership Officer, Simbarashe Majamanda. Key deliberations, suggestions,
recommendations and proposals are detailed in this
update.

Brief Background on the City budget:
After giving a
brief history of the HRT focusing on the thrust of the residents’ movement,
Majamanda emphasised that council has not been transparent in budget formulation
and implementation. There has been no access to audited reports from 2008 to
present which is picturesque of the fact that council has ceased to represent
the public interest. Council has failed to give verbal or even written financial
reports to residents who are the chief funder of council through rates payment.
He said that budget meetings were poorly
organised and there was very low attendance. Council officials concentrated on
mentioning their assumed successes such asresurfacing Borrowdale Roadand
acquiring 20 refuse trucks and replacement of water pipes in the CBD just to
mention a few. The meetings were reduced to pure service delivery meetings
rather than budget consultative meetings.

Residents at the meeting identified and agreed
that their priorities in the City budget be as follows:

Residents’
Priority List in the 2012 City Budget

1.Constant Water Supplies: Residents agreed
that the following should be done by council to ensure adequate and regular
water supplies for the communities:

·Maintenance of
water infrastructure

·Roles of
communities in borehole maintenance

·Borehole drilling
and maintenance.

·Construction of
water reservoirs.

·Maintaining and
upgrading of water infrastructure.

·Resuscitating of
Cleveland Dam as a way to ease water pressure from the current
supply.

2.Waste Management and Sewer Reticulation:
Residents agreed that the following should be done by council to
ensure that the communities are free of waste and that world health Organisation
(WHO) standards are upheld in the communities:

·Refuse collection
at all times.

·Good waste
disposal

·Consistency in
refuse collection.

·Strict adherence
to refuse collection schedules.

·Acquiring more
refuse trucks to service communities.

·Clearing of dump
sites caused by poor refuse collection.

·Provisions of
plastic refuse bins

·Removal of
sewerage charges for residents using septic tanks.

·Timely response
to sewer bursts.

·Poor refuse
collection rounds.

3.Billing System: Residents agreed
that the billing system of the City of Harare should be addressed:

·Computerisation
of the City Treasury for accurate capturing of rates payment.

·Decentralisation
of billing system to council’s District Offices.

·Residents should
be able to acquire information at their District Office without going to Rowan
Martin Building to seek clarity on their bills.

·Lack of
transparency and accountability in council billing.

·Huge unaffordable
bills, which have to be scrapped.

·Bills should be
accurate and not estimated.

4.Health Services, Market Stalls And Public Toilets:
Residents agreed that the following should be done by council to
ensure that the health standards of communities are improved:

·Costing of health
services should be reasonable and commensurate with the earnings of the
beneficiaries to avoid compromising the right to health.

·Accessibility of
health services and performance of health personnel.

·Repair and
maintenance of public toilets,

·Access to public
toilets is problematic as most of the times the City charges people for
entry.

·Construction of
public toilets where they do not exist

·There is need to
establish market stalls for vendors in the communities at places identified by
the residents, where there are public toilets and practice good hygiene.

·Transparency in
the allocation of market spaces.

·District Officers
should be seen to be taking the lead in the allocation of market stalls not
non-council employees.

5.Road Network and Drainage Systems: Residents agreed
that the following should be done by Council to ensure that the drainage system
in the communities is improved:

·Clearing of
drainage systems ahead of the rainy season.

·Recruitment of
casual labourers for drainage clearing.

·Transparent
pothole patching.

·Establishing
drainage system in suburbs.

6.Education System and Recreational Facilities:
Residents agreed that the following should be done by council to
ensure that the education system and recreational facilities of communities is
improved:

·Council should
reserve space for new schools and health centres in new residential areas.

·Establishing and
maintenance of recreational facilities.

·There is need to
also have retail outlets in new urban settlements.

Concerns raised:

·Shortage of
primary and secondary schools.

·Absence of
recreational facilities in some areas.

·Poor maintenance
of recreational facilities.

·Recreational
facilities being turned into dump sites.

7.Representation by elected councillors: Residents agreed
that councillors should be true representatives of the communities they serve by
holding regular feedback meetings with residents.

·Residents want to
be invited to feedback meetings organised in a non-partisan way by their elected
councillors.

·Communication of
residents’ problems by councillors through council processes.

·Residents demand
to see dedication to duty by councillors to service provision and community
development.

8.Disclosure of City expenditure and Council Accommodation
Facilities- Residents agreed that there be transparency and
accountability in employee recruitment.

·The council
should conduct a human resources audit of its employees whose report should be
availed to the public.

·Audited reports
of previous year’s budget should be published.

·There should be
disclosure of the salary scales of senior management. Residents strongly believe
that the salaries of top management are gobbling the bulk of the city revenue.

·There should be a
visible reduction in expenses on the purchase of council vehicles.

d.Proposed City rates for
2012

Rates

Current Figures

Proposed for 2012

Fixed water
charges

US$5-00

Removed and follow the example of
ZESA Holdings

Council should ensure that its water
meters are functional

Burial/Cemetery

Adult Zimbabwean- US$75-00

Child Zimbabwean- US$40-00

US$50-00 for Adult Zimbabwean

US$20-00 for Children in
Harare

Justification:
Zimbabwe undertook a land reform exercise, where land was re-taken for free from
white commercial farmers. If it was for free, the Government has to allocate
land for free to bury its citizens. Why pay in death when one got the land for
free. The City of Harare should justify its input- we know they charge for the
grave diggers,

Community
Meetings

Residents want to pay nothing for
holding feedback community meetings, averagely once every month.

Parking
Fees

Residents propose that motorist be charged

US$1-00 for an hour of continuous
parking in town.

US$0, 50 and introduce tokens as
means to ease change problems.

Septic Tanks
Emptying

US$92-00-
Residents are being asked to buy 20 litres of diesel to have their septic tanks
emptied.

Residents are demanding that the City
of Harare explains how much it costs to empty septic tanks in order to determine
the actual cost. The City has to indicate its cost drivers.

Refuse
Collection

US$6.50-00 in high density areas and
US$9-00 in low density areas

US$3-00 in high density areas and
US$5-00 in low density areas.

Market Stalls

Residents demand to pay US$10 for
vegetable markets, US$25-00 for market stalls with shades, and US$15-00 for flea
markets.

Maternity Fees

US$30-00

Residents gave given council two
options.

1.$30.00 if
council provides all maternity materials needed by expecting
mothers.

2.$20.00 if
expecting mothers provide their own maternity
materials.

Health Fees-
Consultation

Adults- US$5-00

Children- US$3-00

US$5-00

US$2-00

Other costs that
have to be looked into include the following;

Swimming Pools

Adults - $1.00

Children -$ 1.00

Pool hire full day - $100.00

Emptying of Septic
tanks

Residential areas- $80.00

Industrial areas- $100.00

Housing waiting
list fees

Registration fees- $6.00

Waiting list renewal- $5.00

Harare Markets

Weekend flea markets - $15.00

Mupedzanhamo stands- $155.00 and $125.00

Newspapers vendors -$35.00

Ambulance
fees

$30.00

HRT Position:

These proposals
came about through extensive consultations with residents of Harare. The HRT
expects that the City of Harare produces detailed reports of each pre-budget
consultative meeting in the interest of transparency and accountability. It will
be unfortunate if the City of Harare produces its Capital Budget and Revenue and
Expenditure as widely expected next Friday during a Special Full Council Meeting
without adequate consultations with key stakeholders. The ball is now in the
court of the City of Harare- either to listen and gain the support of the
residents and stakeholders who pay their rates to sustain council services or to
ignore our calls and face intense resistance on rates’ payment. The HRT believes
in dialogue with all service providers. But if this path to dialogue fails, the
HRT is left with no option but to engage in activities that will ultimately
force the council to listen. Residents are fed up with shoddy and mediocrity.